Pope launches "pressing appeal" for Ukraine, for "all initiatives in favor of dialogue and harmony"

"This week we begin Lent, which is the journey of the People of God towards Easter, a journey of conversion, to combat evil with the weapons of prayer, fasting and mercy". "The shroud has no pockets! It is better to share, because we bring into Heaven only what we have shared with others".

Vatican City (
AsiaNews) - "A pressin appeal" was launched by Pope Francis for
Ukraine this Sunday, with the hope that "all parts of the country will
endeavor to overcome misunderstandings and build together the future of the
nation, a peaceful solution, I address a pressing appeal to the international
community to support all initiatives to promote dialogue and harmony".

The
tensions in the country that "is going through a delicate situation"
marked the Angelus address this week. Before
launching his appeal the Pope repeated that we "can not serve two masters"
and noted that "This week we begin Lent, which is the journey of the
people of God towards Easter, a journey of conversion, to combat evil with the
weapons of prayer, fasting and mercy. Humanity
needs justice, reconciliation and peace, which can be achieved only by turning
wholeheartedly to God, who is its source (...) May
we begin Lent with a spirit of worship of God and fraternal solidarity with
those who, in these times, they are most in need and tested by violent conflict".

Before
the Marian prayer, the Pope , quoting the liturgy of the day, spoke of the
passage from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus speaks of Divine Providence, according
to which"the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap,
they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them...Learn from
the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that
not even Solomon in all his splendour was clothed like one of them" (Mt 6,26.28-29 ) .Thinking of so many
people living in precarious conditions, or even in poverty that offends their
dignity, these words of Jesus may seem abstract, if not illusory. But in reality today they
are truer than ever! They
remind us that we can not serve two masters: God and wealth. As
long as each one of us looks out for our own interests, there will never be
justice. If
instead, trusting in the providence of God, we seek his kingdom together, then
no one will be lacking what they need to live with dignity".

"A
heart occupied with the fury of possession, is a heart empty of God. Jesus
warned the rich several times of this, because the risk of placing their own
safety in the goods of this world is strong in them. In
a heart possessed by wealth, there is no room for faith. If
instead we allow God his place, that is first place [in our hearts], then His
love leads us to share the wealth, to being open to projects of solidarity and
development, as seen in the many examples, also recently, in history of the Church. You
know that the shroud has no pockets!
It is better to share, because we bring into Heaven only
what we have shared with others".

"The
road that Jesus indicates may seem unrealistic with respect to the prevailing mentality
and problems of the economic crisis, but if we think about it, it points us
towards the right scale of values. He
says: "Is not life
more than food and the body more than clothing? " (Mt 6,25).

"In order to make sure that no one lacks bread, water, clothing, housing,
work, health, - concluded the Pope - we must all recognize that we are children
of the Father who is in heaven , and then brothers and sisters, and we behave
accordingly. I
recalled in my Message for Peace on January 1 this year: the path to peace is through
fraternity. This journeying together, sharing with each other".